Fleet Star’s management team have been banned from the touchline after letting a former player into the technical area.

And the club has been fined £250 following the incident in the Haig Gordon Cup clash with Wigtown & Bladnoch.

Co-managers Mark Adams and Andrew Davies have both been banned for three games with the suspensions running consecutively rather than at the same time.

Although the incident happened in November it has taken until January for the punishment to be handed out and imposed.

And while they disagree with what has happened, officials at the Gatehouse club have decided not to appeal.

Adams said: “It would have cost us £300 but I was advised by somebody that very rarely do these get revoked.”

The incident happened at Wigtown’s Trammandford Park on November 29 when the referee appointed was Lloyd Wilson.

Adams said: “Just after half-time an ex-player of ours had wandered over and gone into the technical area.

“About five minutes into the second half the referee signalled to the linesman that there was somebody in the technical area that shouldn’t have been there and to move him.

“I turned round and asked him to move and he went to the other side of the barrier beside our committee.

“The linesman asked who it was and I said: “‘What does it matter? He’s out, he’s nothing to do with the club.’ He ran away still asking who it was. I jokingly said a false name and the game started again.

“Five minutes later the referee came over and said he wanted a word.

“When I asked what I’d done he said: ‘It’s not you, I just need to speak to you.’ I went over and he said: ‘Who is that, is it Stephen McColm?’ I said ‘No, what does it matter anyway? He’s not in the technical area.’ He asked again and I said: ‘No, it’s Matthew.’

“He then said he wanted him on the other side of the ground with the spectators.

“I asked what the problem was and he replied: ‘This game will not continue until he is moved.’ I asked him to move round to the side and he did.”

Adams said that after the match he had made a remark to the referee.

“He asked if Irvine [Hannah) the (Star) secretary was about and I said he was away,” Adams added.

“He replied: ‘I’m reporting the club’ and walked out.”

Adams claims the report submitted to the SFA was “a little bit different” to his version of events and “a little bit inaccurate in my opinion”, adding that Wigtown officials were willing to back-up his account.

An SFA spokesman said the punishment had been handed to the two managers because they had allowed McColm to enter their technical area when he shouldn’t have been there and had then made inappropriate comments to the referee.

The club has been fined £250 with a further £250 suspended until the end of the season.

Adams won’t be the only man banned for Fleet when they travel to title challengers Newton Stewart this weekend.

Goalie Shaun Hutchison is an absentee after being sent off in last week’s defeat to Edusport Academy while Martin Niven will also miss out due to injury.

Adams said: “We’ve not played them at all this season and with the changes they’ve had there’s a bit of uncertainty so we don’t know what to expect.”